U.S. patent number 10,465,593 [Application Number 15/830,359] was granted by the patent office on 2019-11-05 for coolant control valve.
This patent grant is currently assigned to HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY, KIA MOTORS CORPORATION. The grantee listed for this patent is HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY, KIA MOTORS CORPORATION. Invention is credited to Won Hyuk Koh, Byung Chul Lee, Hyun Wook Ryu, Seok Jun Yoon.
United States Patent |
10,465,593 |
Koh , et al. |
November 5, 2019 |
Coolant control valve
Abstract
A coolant control valve includes a cam rotating by rotational
force; a pivot arm disposed under the cam, one end of the pivot arm
moving in an up and down direction by rotation of the cam; a valve
installed at another end of the pivot arm and disposed outside an
outer diameter of the cam, the valve moving as the pivot arm moves;
and a pivot arm support hinge for supporting the pivot arm and
enabling vertical movement of the pivot arm when the cam
rotates.
Inventors: |
Koh; Won Hyuk (Seoul,
KR), Ryu; Hyun Wook (Hwaseong-si, KR), Lee;
Byung Chul (Suwon-si, KR), Yoon; Seok Jun
(Anyang-si, KR) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY
KIA MOTORS CORPORATION |
Seoul
Seoul |
N/A
N/A |
KR
KR |
|
|
Assignee: |
HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY (Seoul,
KR)
KIA MOTORS CORPORATION (Seoul, KR)
|
Family
ID: |
62561399 |
Appl.
No.: |
15/830,359 |
Filed: |
December 4, 2017 |
Prior Publication Data
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|
|
|
Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
|
US 20180171860 A1 |
Jun 21, 2018 |
|
Foreign Application Priority Data
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|
|
|
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Dec 16, 2016 [KR] |
|
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10-2016-0172187 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F16K
11/165 (20130101); F01P 7/14 (20130101); F16K
31/52 (20130101); F16K 31/52408 (20130101); F16K
31/52416 (20130101); F01P 2007/146 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
F01P
7/14 (20060101); F16K 11/16 (20060101); F16K
31/52 (20060101); F16K 31/524 (20060101) |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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1484205 |
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Dec 2004 |
|
EP |
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H02-55810 |
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Feb 1990 |
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JP |
|
2013-517416 |
|
May 2013 |
|
JP |
|
1995-0019219 |
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Jul 1995 |
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KR |
|
20-0192286 |
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Aug 2000 |
|
KR |
|
20-0289789 |
|
Sep 2002 |
|
KR |
|
10-0914678 |
|
Aug 2009 |
|
KR |
|
10-1592428 |
|
Feb 2016 |
|
KR |
|
10-1628236 |
|
Jun 2016 |
|
KR |
|
2004/083607 |
|
Sep 2004 |
|
WO |
|
Primary Examiner: Keasel; Eric
Assistant Examiner: Barss; Kevin R
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A coolant control valve comprising: a cam rotating by rotational
force; a pivot arm disposed under the cam, one end of the pivot arm
moving in an up and down direction by the rotation of the cam; a
valve installed at another end of the pivot arm and disposed
outside an outer diameter of the cam, the valve being moved as the
pivot arm moves; and a pivot arm support hinge supporting the pivot
arm and enabling the up and down movement of the pivot arm when the
cam rotates, wherein the cam comprises a slope on a lower surface
of the cam, wherein the pivot arm comprises: a body; and a
protrusion protruding from a top portion of the body and abut
against a surface of the slope; and a guide rod formed on a lower
portion of the body to guide movement of position of the valve, and
wherein a plurality of pivot arms are disposed under the cam.
2. The coolant control valve of claim 1, further comprising a valve
guide spaced apart from a lower portion of the pivot arm, wherein
the valve guide allows the valve to pass through the inside the
valve guide to guide lifting and descending of the valve.
3. The coolant control valve of claim 1, wherein the body comprises
a mounting groove into which the pivot arm support hinge is
inserted, and wherein the mounting groove guides the up and down
movement of the pivot arm against the pivot arm support hinge when
the protrusion is pressed by the rotation of the cam.
4. The coolant control valve of claim 3, wherein the mounting
groove has a round shape corresponding to a shape of the pivot arm
support hinge, and wherein an upper part of the pivot arm support
hinge is fitted into and engaged with the mounting groove to allow
the body to rotate pivotally.
5. The coolant control valve of claim 1, wherein at least one pivot
arm is arranged radially under the cam, and wherein the slope
presses the protrusion through the slant surface of the slope and
allows one end of the body to descend as the cam rotates.
6. The coolant control valve of claim 2, further comprising a plate
connecting the valve and the cam, and wherein the valve guide
comprises: an installation guide on one side of the plate such that
the valve is disposed outside the outer diameter of the cam and the
up and down movement of the valve is supported; and a lip seal
disposed inside the installation guide to interrupt formation of a
gap between an inner surface of the installation guide and an outer
surface of the valve.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE(S) TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application claims under 35 U.S.C. .sctn. 119(a) the benefit
of priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2016-0172187 filed
on Dec. 16, 2016, the entire content of which is incorporated
herein by reference.
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present disclosure relates to a coolant control valve, and more
particularly, to a coolant control valve capable of stabilizing a
vertical movement of a valve body and preventing leakage.
BACKGROUND
Generally, engines generate rotational force by combustion of fuel,
and the remainder of the combustion energy is discharged as heat
energy.
Particularly, cooling water absorbs heat energy while it circulates
through an engine, a heater, and a radiator and discharges the heat
energy to the outside.
When temperature of the cooling water of the engine is low, there
is a tendency that viscosity of lubricating oil increases and hence
friction force increases, resulting in increase of fuel consumption
and that temperature of exhaust gas rises slowly. Thus, it takes a
relatively long period of time for activating a catalyst, resulting
in deterioration of quality of the exhaust gas.
In addition, time for normalization of function of the heater
becomes longer and hence a driver and passengers can feel cold.
On the contrary, if the temperature of the cooling water of the
engine is excessively high, knocking occurs. However, if an
ignition timing is adjusted to suppress the knocking, performance
may be deteriorated.
Moreover, if the temperature of the lubricating oil is excessively
high, lubricating action may be deteriorated.
Therefore, there may be applied a single cooling water control
valve that controls a plurality of cooling components by means of a
single valve, for example, in a manner that a temperature of the
cooling water in a specific portion of the engine is kept high and
temperatures of the other portions are kept low.
However, the cooling water control valve is formed such that a
rotating cam 1 pushes a valve 2 and allows the valve 2 to tilt and
move up and down, as shown in FIG. 1. This cooling water control
valve has a problem of leakage which occurs by a gap allowing the
tilting movement and the valve 2 may be damaged by a shear force
due to the tilting movement.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only
for enhancement of understanding of the background of the
invention, and therefore, it may contain information that does not
form the prior art that is already known in this country to a
person of ordinary skill in the art.
SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE
The present disclosure is directed to a coolant control valve in
which a pivot arm and a pivot arm support hinge are disposed
between a cam and a valve, thus eliminating a shear force acting on
the valve by the cam and at the same time increasing length of a
valve guide so as to install the valve outside an outer diameter of
the cam so that it is possible to stabilize behavior of vertical
movement of the valve and improve leakage.
According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a coolant
control valve comprises: a cam rotating by rotational force; a
pivot arm disposed under the cam, one end of the pivot arm moving
in an up and down direction by the rotation of the cam; a valve
installed at another end of the pivot arm and disposed outside an
outer diameter of the cam, the valve moving as the pivot arm moves;
and a pivot arm support hinge supporting the pivot arm and enabling
the up and down movement of the pivot arm when the cam rotates.
The coolant control valve further comprises a valve guide disposed
to be spaced apart from a lower portion of the pivot arm wherein
the valve guide is configured to allow the valve to pass through
the inside thereof to guide a path of lifting and descending of the
valve.
The pivot arm comprises a body, a protrusion protruding from a top
portion of the body and abut against a slant surface of a slope at
a lower surface of the cam, and a guide rod formed on a lower
portion of the body to guide movement of position of the valve
wherein a plurality of pivot arms are disposed below the cam.
The body comprises a mounting groove formed to allow the pivot arm
support hinge to be inserted therein wherein the mounting groove
guides up and down movement of the pivot arm against the pivot arm
support hinge when the protrusion is pressed by rotation of the
cam.
The mounting groove is formed in a round shape corresponding to
shape of the pivot arm support hinge and provided such that an
upper part of the pivot arm support hinge is fitted into and
engaged with the mounting groove to allow the body to rotate
pivotally.
At least one pivot arm is arranged radially under the cam and the
slope presses the protrusion through the slant surface thereof and
forces one end of the body to descend as the cam rotates.
The valve guide comprises an installation guide formed on one side
of a plate such that the valve is positioned outside the outer
diameter of the cam and the up and down movement of the valve is
supported; and a lip seal installed inside the installation guide
to interrupt formation of a gap between an inner surface of the
installation guide and an outer surface of the valve.
The present disclosure has an advantageous effect that since the
pivot arm and the pivot arm support hinge are provided between the
cam and the valve so as to eliminate a shear force acting on the
valve by the cam and at the same time length of the valve guide is
increased so as to install the valve outside the outer diameter of
the cam, it is possible to stabilize behavior of vertical movement
of the valve and improve leakage.
In addition, the present disclosure has a further advantageous
effect that since the valve is configured to follow the valve guide
and move in the vertical direction only, it is possible to
stabilize behavior of movement of the valve and eliminate the shear
force applied to the valve as described above, thereby improving
breakdown of the valve.
Moreover, the present disclosure has also an advantageous effect
that since lengths of the pivot arm, the valve guide and the like
can be adjusted such that the valve is installed outside the outer
diameter of the cam, the degree of freedom of design according to a
valve layout can be increased.
Other aspects and preferred embodiments of the invention are
discussed infra.
It is understood that the term "vehicle" or "vehicular" or other
similar term as used herein is inclusive of motor vehicles in
general such as passenger automobiles including sports utility
vehicles (SUV), buses, trucks, various commercial vehicles,
watercraft including a variety of boats and ships, aircraft, and
the like, and includes hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles, plug-in
hybrid electric vehicles, hydrogen-powered vehicles and other
alternative fuel vehicles (e.g. fuels derived from resources other
than petroleum). As referred to herein, a hybrid vehicle is a
vehicle that has two or more sources of power, for example both
gasoline-powered and electric-powered vehicles.
The above and other features of the invention are discussed
infra.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The above and other features of the present disclosure will now be
described in detail with reference to certain exemplary embodiments
thereof illustrated the accompanying drawings which are given
hereinbelow by way of illustration only, and thus are not
limitative of the present disclosure, and wherein:
FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a conventional coolant control
valve.
FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing a state of installation of a
coolant control valve according to an embodiment of the present
disclosure;
FIG. 3 is a view showing a coolant control valve according to an
embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 4 is a view showing a pivot arm of a coolant control valve
according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 5 is a view showing installation of a pivot arm support hinge
and a valve body of a coolant control valve according to an
embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 6 is a view showing a state of operation of a coolant control
valve according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 7 is a view showing a cam of a coolant control valve according
to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and
FIG. 8 is a view showing the installation of a pivot arm support
hinge and a valve body of a coolant control valve according to an
embodiment of the present disclosure.
It should be understood that the appended drawings are not
necessarily to scale, presenting a somewhat simplified
representation of various features illustrative of the basic
principles of the invention. The specific design features of the
present disclosure as disclosed herein, including, for example,
specific dimensions, orientations, locations, and shapes will be
determined in part by the particular intended application and use
environment.
In the figures, reference numbers refer to the same or equivalent
parts of the present disclosure throughout the several figures of
the drawing.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will now be
described in detail with reference to the accompanying
drawings.
Advantages and features of the present disclosure and methods of
achieving the same will be clearly understood from exemplary
embodiments described in detail below with reference to the
accompanying drawings.
However, the present disclosure is not limited to the exemplary
embodiments described below, but can be implemented in various
ways. The exemplary embodiments are provided to make the present
disclosure clear and to help those skilled in the art completely
understand the scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the
present disclosure is defined only by the scope of the claims.
In addition, in the following description, detailed explanation of
known related arts and the like may be omitted to avoid
unnecessarily obscuring the subject matter of the present
disclosure.
FIG. 2 is a view schematically showing a state of installation of a
coolant control valve according to an embodiment of the present
disclosure, and FIG. 3 is a view showing a coolant control valve
according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
Further, FIG. 4 is a view showing a pivot arm of a coolant control
valve according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and
FIG. 5 is a view showing installation of a pivot arm support hinge
and a valve body of a coolant control valve according to an
embodiment of the present disclosure.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a coolant control valve according to
this embodiment comprises a cam part 100, a pivot arm part 200, a
valve part 300 and a valve guide 400.
First, the cam part 100 is provided to enable driving of the valve
part wherein the cam part receives rotational force generated by a
driving means (not shown) and rotates, thereby allowing the pivot
arm part 200 to operate.
This pivot arm part 200 is disposed under the cam part 100 and
rotate pivotally as the cam part 100 rotates, whereby one end part
thereof lifts and descends along a vertical direction.
The pivot arm part 200 is herein to enable lifting and descending
of the valve part 300 by lifting and descending as described above.
To this end, the pivot arm part 200 comprises a body part 210, a
protrusion 220 and a guide rod 230 as shown in FIG. 4.
A plurality of body parts 210, each of which has a predetermined
length, are disposed under the cam part 100 in a manner that they
protrude from the outside of an outer diameter of the cam part
100.
In addition, the body part 210 is also provided with a mounting
groove H which is formed on a lower portion of the body part 210 so
as to be spaced apart from the guide rod 230 and which is intended
to guide position of mounting a pivot arm support hinge 500
enabling pivotal rotation of the body part 210 when a protrusion
220 is pressed by rotation of the cam part 100.
In this case, the mounting groove H is formed in a round shape
corresponding to shape of the pivot arm support hinge 500 as shown
in FIG. 5, whereby an upper part of the pivot arm support hinge 500
having the same shape as the mounting groove H is fitted into and
engaged with the mounting groove.
The protrusion 220 is formed to protrude from a top portion of the
body part 210 and contact with a slant surface of a slope 110 on a
lower surface of the cam part 100.
That is, the protrusion 220 protrudes at a position corresponding
to the slope 110 provided on the lower surface of the cam part 100
wherein when it is pressed through the slant surface of the slope
110 as the cam part 100 rotates, it transmits pressing force to the
body part 210 so that the body part 210 can move up and down about
the pivot arm support hinge 500.
The guide rod 230 has a predetermined length as shown in FIG. 5 and
is formed in a groove shape on the lower portion of the body part
210 to guide movement of the valve part 300.
Further, an inner portion of the guide rod 230 may be formed in a
circular shape such that when the valve part 300 is installed in
the guide rod, frictional force at a region where the valve part
contacts with the valve part 300 is minimized.
Moreover, the guide rod 230 may be formed in a shape of a lock
guide enabling an outer peripheral surface of the valve part 300 to
be pressed therein such that the valve part 300 installed in the
guide rod cannot be broken away from the guide rod.
The valve part 300 is installed at one end of the pivot arm part
200 to move up and down as the pivot arm 200 moves up and down.
In other words, the valve part 300 is provided for controlling a
flow rate wherein it is installed in a manner of penetrating a
valve guide 400 and adapted to descend and selectively block a flow
path when the pivot arm part 200, i.e., the body part 210 of the
pivot arm part 200 pivots.
The valve guide 400 is disposed to be spaced apart from the lower
portion of the pivot arm part 200 and is connected to one end of
the pivot arm part 200 disposed to be spaced apart from the valve
guide by means of the pivot arm support hinge 500 enabling pivotal
rotation of the pivot arm part 200, thereby guiding path of lifting
and descending of the valve part 300.
The valve guide 400 includes an installation guide 410 and a lip
seal 420.
The installation guide 410 is formed on one side of a plate 10 and
supports lifting and descending of the valve part 300.
In addition, the installation guide 410 has a predetermined length
at a lower portion of the plate 10 and is configured to allow the
valve part 300 to pass through and insert into the inside thereof,
thereby guiding the path of lifting and descending of the valve
part 300.
Accordingly, since the installation guide 410 has a predetermined
length, the valve part 300 is allowed to pass through the inside of
installation guide and stably move along a vertical direction, so
that behavior of the valve part 300 is stabilized and a shear force
that may be applied to the valve part 300 is eliminated, thereby
improving damage of the valve part 300.
The lip seal 420 is installed inside the installation guide 410 to
interrupt formation of a gap between an inner surface of the
installation guide 410 and an outer surface of the valve part 300
moving up and down.
That is, the lip seal 420 is made of an elastic material such as
rubber, and can avoid a possibility of further leakage by
interrupting in advance a gap that may be formed inside the
installation guide 410.
Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7 hereinafter, FIG. 6 is a view showing a
state of operation of a coolant control valve according to an
embodiment of the present disclosure, and FIG. 7 is a view showing
a cam part of a coolant control valve according to an embodiment of
the present disclosure.
Referring to FIG. 6, operation of the coolant control valve
according to this embodiment will be described below.
First, when the cam part 100 is rotated by a driving means (not
shown), one end of the pivot arm part 200 disposed under the cam
part 100 lifts and descends along a vertical direction.
That is, the slope 110 is formed under the cam part 100 with the
same number as that of the pivot arm parts 200 as shown in FIG. 1
wherein the slant surface of the slope 110 presses the pivot arm
part 200, i.e., the protrusion 220 of the pivot arm part 200 as the
cam 100 rotates so that one end of the pivot arm part 200
descends.
In this case, when the slant surface of the slope 110 presses the
protrusion 220 as described above, one end of the body part 210
rotates pivotally in a direction of descending around the pivot arm
support hinge 500, whereby the valve part 300 installed at the
lower portion of the valve part 210 also descends through the valve
guide 400.
This is to eliminate a shear force acting on the valve part 300 by
the cam portion 100. In the prior art as shown in FIG. 1, the valve
part 300 is positioned inside an outer diameter of the cam part 100
and the valve part 300 is configured to operate through tilting
movement when the cam part 100 rotates.
However, in the conventional structure as described above, the
valve part 300 may be damaged due to a shear force resulting from
the tilting movement of the valve part 300 itself. Accordingly, in
this embodiment of the present disclosure, the pivot arm part 200
and the pivot arm support hinge 500 are further provided such that
the valve part 300 moves up and down in a state of being positioned
outside the outer diameter of the cam part 100, whereby a shear
force acting on the valve part 300 by operation of the cam part 100
is eliminated.
FIG. 8 is a view showing position of installation of a pivot arm
support hinge and a valve body of a coolant control valve according
to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
As shown in FIG. 8, the coolant control valve according to this
embodiment is positioned outside the cam part 100 and comprises the
valve part 300 moving up and down as the pivot are part 200 moves
up and down.
In this case, disposing the valve part 300 outside the outer
diameter of the cam portion 100 can be made by adjusting the length
of the pivot arm part 200.
That is, a plurality of pivot arm parts 200 are arranged radially
under the cam part 100 and the protrusion 220 is pressed through
the slant surface of the slope 110 as the cam part 100 rotates, and
thus, one end of the body part 210 moves down, wherein if the
length of the pivot arm part 200 is adjusted, position of the valve
part 300 can also be shifted to the outside of the outer diameter
of the cam part 100.
In other words, in the prior art, since there is no configuration
such as the pivot arm portion 200 and the pivot arm support hinge
500 as in this embodiment and therefore the valve part 300 must be
positioned inside the outer diameter of the cam part 100, not only
the shear force is generated in the valve part 300 but also the
position of installation of the valve part 300 cannot be
adjusted.
Therefore, in this embodiment, since the pivot arm part 200 and the
pivot arm support hinge 500 are provided and the valve part 300 is
installed outside the outer diameter of the cam part 100 by
adjusting the length of the pivot arm part 200 and hence moved up
and down, it is possible to increase the degree of freedom of
design according to a valve layout.
The present disclosure has an advantageous effect that since the
pivot arm part and the pivot arm support hinge are provided between
the cam part and the valve part so as to eliminate a shear force
acting on the valve part by the cam part and at the same time
length of the valve guide is increased so as to install the valve
part outside the outer diameter of the cam part, it is possible to
stabilize behavior of vertical movement of the valve part and
improve leakage.
In addition, the present disclosure has a further advantageous
effect that since the valve part is configured to follow the valve
guide and move in the vertical direction only, it is possible to
stabilize behavior of movement of the valve part and eliminate the
shear force applied to the valve part as described above, thereby
improving breakdown of the valve part.
Further, the present disclosure has also an advantageous effect
that since lengths of the pivot arm part, the valve guide and the
like can be adjusted such that the valve part is installed under
the lower surface of the cam part, the degree of freedom of design
according to a valve layout can be increased.
The present disclosure has been described in detail with reference
to preferred embodiments illustrated in the drawings, but it is
merely exemplary. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the
art that various modifications can be made from the disclosure and
the present disclosure can be implemented by selectively combining
the entirety or some of the embodiments. Therefore, the true scope
of the present disclosure should be defined by the spirit and scope
of the appended claims.
* * * * *